A Woman's Journey With Rare Disease

Review: Therapeutix TENS Unit RXL Ultra

This review isn’t going to have pictures because I think the website does a better job with showing you how these work & what they do.

When I saw this model as I was browsing TENS units on Amazon I was really hoping it would work out better than the Omron model I picked up in a pinch at the drugstore.

In fact, the zaps from that device were not only skin crawly but painful. I threw it out because I just thought I wasn’t meant to use it or that it was somehow defective because the weakest level was too pinchy, zappy, & too intense.

But then when I read up on TENS units to hopefully avoid making a similar mistake I saw that Omron also didn’t have a muscle stimulating aspect like some of the more popular units.

Because it was so small & basic, it didn’t seem to have much control over the modes either. If the first was too powerful prickly, I know turning it up wasn’t going to help & I couldn’t turn it down. There just was no adjustment curve.

Luckily the Omron was on sale so I was only out about half the listed price.

I was skeptical until I came across this model & looked at the specs. It was a little bit more pricey than some of the others looked at that some of my friends had recommended, but there were some key differences.

The factors that sold me were that it was both TENS & EMS (muscle stimulation) , the device intensity was adjustable & it had 4 different modes. Added bonuses was the unit was rechargeable, small, & there were a variety of electrode pad sizes to choose from. [NOTE: The TENS/EMS link explanation comes from a commercial site but I felt it did a very good job in layman’s terms noting differences between the two terms & what the benefits are of each, as well as the benefits of a combined approach.]

All pad bundles came with 20 pads. They didn’t look like they used weak adhesive (so you could get multiple uses out of them – & they don’t disappoint with that). They also did not need conductivity gel. Some other units needed to have the pads primed with this before use (not super expensive but yet another expense). So overall, it seemed to be to be the better buy.

[As an added bonus for my birthday my friends got me the massage sandals which I am going to try out after a rehab session.

The weather has been changing so I’ve been getting more pain & sometimes it will radiate. I’ve done well with reflexology in the past so that’s why I asked for them.

I was hoping it would work as an impromptu treatment. I just hadn’t had the chance to try them out yet.]

Some of my friends I’ve loaned this machine to were really pleased & said it helped them. One said it reminded them of one a chiropractor’s office had used.

They also like varying but sometimes high levels of intensity. They seemed very pleased with the settings & the intensity levels, as well as the relief provided.

BrownCastle is a small company. [NOTE: Therapeutix-USA is the company listed in Amazon.] The brand name is Therapeutix.

Before I knew about their website, after it shipped from Amazon they sent me a personal email stating to let them know if it arrived late or I had any issues.

I didn’t even have to charge it out of the box because they had sent it pre-charged.

They followed up with me later & said they wanted me to shoot them a quick email to let them know how it was working for me & that I was satisfied. They also encouraged me to leave an Amazon review. (Took me about 2 months to do the Amazon review after I received it, but I was really happy with the customer attention & follow up. Not all companies care to do that.)

At the time too, I was really struggling with pain. I was having a lot of inflammatory & chest & rib pain that nothing was seeming to work on entirely. This is before trying Mo’s & a few other things & before my opioid regimen.

So I was really relieved the difference. Anything that took the edge off at that point was a plus but this seemed to also have the added benefit of relaxing the areas around it as well as addressing some of the pain.

I was reminded how effective this device was recently when I woke up with a horrible & painful crink in my neck.

I still had electrodes for myself even after loaning this out & going through a set of pads, so this lasts awhile given how heavily we were using it at times.

I think the medium size electrodes work better for the neck area, so I ordered a package of those (since I was set to re-order the large ones anyway), just so I would have them.

The large pads are nice for shoulders, back, & abdomen areas where the muscle groups are larger.

Still I made do with what I had (did have one sample medium pad left), tried 2 or 3 different modes in a few treatments & felt such a huge difference in relief after. One of my treatments was 20 minutes, another was 30; but I felt relief before it was up (it was just helping so much & the crink was so bad that I knew the extra time wouldn’t hurt.)

The unit I bought was more expensive, but they have a very reasonable lower priced model that should be considered too as it rivals pricing of many other popular models.

I don’t think it comes with as many features as mine, but it’s close. It’s also smaller & at least $30 less, so if things add up you can still get a rechargeable unit & the use of these great pads at a lower price point.

I still feel the Ultra best suited my needs. That said, I wouldn’t be hesitant to try the other model or even gift it to someone.

The one drawback but not a deal breaker is that doesn’t come with a case of any kind. I find that the box is sturdy & just low profile enough to hold everything. That works for me since I just keep it around home primarily.

If you can find one the right dimension it might fit in a cell phone case (like the little wallet ones they make for purses) or a pouch.

(DISCLAIMER: I was not paid by this company or sent a free device. I ordered it on my own from the company through Amazon. I thought doing a review might be a useful way to share information with others who might be interested or needing such a device for their own personal health issues. This analysis in no way constitutes medical advice or product endorsement. I try to keep the devices I select for personal use, profiling, & reviewing in an affordable price range. Often $50 or less where possible. If they are more expensive I make that clear & try to point out their practicality & uniqueness in assisting me with my personal health.)